Stocking and method of making the same



(No Model.)

H. O. RIGHTMIRE. STOCKING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

No. 465,678. Patented Dec. 22,1891.

Wi/bmom MM: a 1M MM Jam/m4 Units STATES PATENT Erica,

HARRY O RIGHTMIRE, OF IIAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE HALF TOTHOMAS A. PEARCE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

STOCKING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,678, dated December22, 1891.

Application filed July 27, 1891. Serial No. 400,851. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- ing the instep and ankle, and it is alsofor the Be it known that I, HARRY C. RIGHTMIRE, same reason impossibletointroduce the extra a citizen of the United States, residing at threadhigh up on the rear part of the heel.

lIavre de Grace, in the county of Harford and lhe principal objects ofmy present inven- State of Maryland, have invented certain new tion are,first, to obviate the above-mentioned 5 5 and useful Improvements inStockings and defects and disadvantages and to provide a in theMethod ofProducing the Same, of which stocking or sock having a wide or full andthe following is a specification. elasticinstep andahigh-spliced orre-enforced My present invention relates,in general, to heel adapted tofit the upper portion of the [O seamless hosiery, and more particularlyto lball of the heel of the wearer and extending 60 certain improvementsin the shape,-structnrc, well up to the ankle, and, second, to provideand properties of the ankle, heel, and instep a simple and expeditiousmethod of producportions thereof. ing such stockings or socks.

An ordinary seamless stocking may be pro- In a stocking embodyingfeatures of my in- I 5 duced upon a round or circular knittingIllavention the upper portion of the foot and of 65 chine by firstknitting a tubular leg; second, the heel-pocket are united to the leg bymeans knitting a heel onto said leg and shaping the of a gore knit ontocertain of the stitches of heel by narrowing and widening the same, theleg and a full tubeknit onto the gore and and this widening or narrowingoperation the remaining stitches of the leg and onto the may beaccomplished by throwing half of the (foot and heel-pocket, whereby afull elastic 7o needles of the machine out of action and then instep anda high-spliced heel adapted to fit knitting back and forth on theneedles rethe upper portion of the ball of the heel of maining in actionand throwing out needles the wearer are attained. one at a time first onone side and then on My improved method of producing stockthe other atthe formation of each course of ings embodyingmy invention may becarried 75 stitches during the narrowing operation and into effect bymeans of a round-knitting mathrowing needles into action in a similarchine in the following manner: A tubular leg manner during thewideningoperation, and, is knit and properly shaped in the usual third, throwingall the needles into action and manner, and a gore is then knit ontocertain 0 knitting the foot. Moreover, in the producof the stitches ofthis leg by first throwing 8o tion of such stockings it is customary toinone-half the needles of the machine, and in troduce an extra thread orheavier and addition thereto a certain numberfor exst-ronger threadintothe machine during the ample, seven needleson each side, out-ofacoperation of knitting the heel, so that the tion, and then knitting acertain number of heel comprises a stronger and more durable courses ofstitches and alternately throwing 85 web than the other portion of thestocking. one needle on each side into action at each It is welll knownthat the instep and ankle course of stitches until a certain number ofportions of. a stocking should be as elastic and needles-for example,fourteen on each side full as poss gble and that the portion of the havebeen thrown into action, whereupon a stocking w 1ich fits into thehollow above full-knit tube is knit onto the stitches of said 0 the ballof the heel should be narrowed or gore and onto the remaining stitchesof the contracted in order to conform. to the shape leg by throwingallthe needles of the machine of the foot. Moreover, the thickened orreinto action and knitting any nun1ber-f0rexenforced web should extendwell up upon the ample, thirty full courses-of stitches. The

heel in order to provide for the wear which heel-pocket and foot arethen knit onto the 5 occurs at the points where the upper portionsstitches of said full-knit tube in the usual or of so-called Oxford tiesor half-shoes in any preferred manner.

contactwiththestockings. Inordinarystock- The nature and characteristicfeatures of ings it is impossible to narrow the upper rear my presentinvention will be more fully unportion of the heel'without undulycontactderstood from the following description,taken zoo 25 gore Zr.

in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, andin which- Figurel is an elevation of a stocking embodying features of myinvention, showinga gore and a full-knit tube interposed between the legand the upper portion of the foot and heel-pocket; and Figs. 2, 3, and aare diagrammatic views illustrating the position of the needles of around or circular knitting machine corresponding to certain of the stepsof my improved method.

Referring now to Fig. l, a isa tubular leg, either plain or ribbed andshaped or straight, as preferred. a is a heel-pocket of any pre- 1 5ferred shape, and a is a foot.

Having thus indicated certain of the parts of a well-known stocking orsock, I will now proceed to point out the features comprising myimprovements.

b is a full-knit tube-2'. a, a tube formed by all the needles of themachineinterposed between the lower portion of theleg and the upperportion of the foot and of the heelpocket and united to the leg by meansof a It may be remarked that an extra or a heavy thread is employed inknitting the full-knit tube Z) and the heel-pocket a, so that thestocking is high-splioedi. 6., reenforced by an extra th read-for aconsider- 3c able distance above the heel-pocket, and

thus is made more durable and less apt to become worn by contact withthe upper portion of low shoes. Moreover, the gore serves to render theinstep portion of the stocking 3 5 full and elastic, as at b, and alsoto accommodate the stoeking to the upperportion of the ball of the heelof the wearer, as shown at g.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3, and 4t for a description of my improvedmethod of making stockings embodying my invention, the last course ofstitches of the leg at, if made on a rib-frame, are run onto the needlesof a round or circular machine in the usual manner, whereupon one-halfthe needles of the ma- 5 chine plus certainfor example, seven-needies oneach side of the machine, are thrown out of action, Fig. 2, in order toform the gore b; This gore is formed by knitting back and forth acrossthe machine and throwing cer- 5o tain of the needles previously thrownout of ,[action one at a time and alternately on each side of themachine into action until a certain number-for example, fourteen needleson each side-have been thrown into action, Fig.

tain number of coursesfor example, thirty The heel-pocket a and foot 11are courses. then knit onto the full-knit tube 1) and lower portion ofthe leg a. in the usual or in any preferred manner.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which my inventionappertains that modifications may be made in the details thereof farexample, in the number of needles and courses of stitches employed inmaking the gores-and hence I do not limit myself to the exact mode ofprocedure hereinbefore described; but,

Having thus described the nature and objects of my present invention,what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

1. The herein-described stocking or sock,-

having a gore, and a full-knit tube interposed between the leg and thefootand heel-pocket, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The herein-described stocking or sock, having a gore, and a fnil-knit tube interposed between the leg and the foot and heel-pocketand having said f ull-knit tube and heel-pocket re-enforced orhigh-spliced, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

8. The method of producing stockings or socks, which consists inknitting a leg, then knitting a gore onto certain of the stitches ofsaid leg, then knitting a full-knit tube onto the stitches of said goreand the remaining stitches of the leg, and then knitting a heelpocketand foot onto the stitches of said tube, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

4. The method of producing stockings or socks, which consists inknitting a leg, knitting a gore onto certain of the stitches of saidleg, knitting a tube onto the stitches of said gore and onto theremaining stitches of said leg, knitting a foot and heel-pocket onto thestitches of said tube, and introducing an extra threadinto said gore andheel-pocket, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signaturein the presence oftwo subscribing I oo

